Time Lost
by Moyima
Summary: Response to the L/V Conversation Challenge. An AU take on how Luke might have found out about his father.


The challenge:

Write a conversation between Luke and another character where Luke is told  
that Vader is his father. This can be any character you like in any time  
period you like. Some examples could be between Luke and his aunt and uncle,  
Luke and Obi-Wan, and Luke and Yoda.

Or, you can also choose to write a conversation between Vader and another  
character of your choice where Vader is told that Luke is his son.

The emphasis is on the conversation, but the fic can contain short intro and  
ending paragraphs to set the scene and round out the story. The goal is to  
be creative about writing a conversation.

oOo

TIME LOST

Gasping, Luke threw up bits of bile and gagged as he began to dry heave. He struggled to draw a breath, but he was racked with an agonizing coughing fit. Sweat dripped into his eyes and ran into his mouth. His dry tongue desperately lapped at the salty substance, seeking any moisture. Fingernails cracked and snapped as he clawed at the durasteel floor; a half-mad gesture with no purpose. A soft laugh pulled the young man's attention out of his fraught mind and back to the room. Lank and dirty hair hung down like a curtain, framing piercing blue eyes that snapped from side to side.

"Are you thirsty, boy?" a soft voice rasped from a dark corner across the room.

"...'es," Luke fought to reply, his lips cracked as he tried to move them.

There was a light rustle, and then a figure moved into the dim light of the small cell. A frail old man wrapped in a long robe moved serenely across the floor holding a flask of water. He smiled down at the boy as if he were not lying in his own filth and blood. The man knelt and stared into Luke's eyes before helping the boy to sit and lean against the wall. Lifting the flask, he held Luke's chin and helped him take small, controlled sips of water. After a few minutes, the man pulled back. When a low whine slid from Luke's lips, the man smiled.

"We can't be rushing things, or you'll just throw it all up again."

"...Oooore."

The man ran his fingers through tangled and bloodied hair. "I know, little one, you will get more. Let your stomach settle." The man then shifted so that he leaned against the wall next to the young man. He pulled the small frame towards him until Luke rested comfortably against his side. He smiled fondly down at the boy who was blinking blood and sweat from his eyes while trying to comprehend the sudden shift in his environment.

"...yyy... wahh..iii."

"I don't know why little one," the man whispered. "The Force moves in strange ways."

The boy groaned and tried to shift, but the man held him fast.

"You are repaying a debt, I suppose," the man mused. "Some might say that's not fair, but when has the galaxy ever been fair? Especially to a silly little farmboy like you."

Luke shivered from the man's biting words, or from the cold of the durasteel creeping through the rags clinging to his body. "Deeebt?"

"Oh, yes, child." A sporadic giggle slapped the walls of the small, dark cell. "You are not to have an easy fate. No. No, you must repay the damage wrought by your sire." The man smiled as his words brought a sob that sounded like a knife tearing up the boy's throat.

"Pah...Plleeasss... Ma.. fah..ther is dee..."

A gentle caress of worn, grey fingers brushed bruised cheeks. "Oh, if he were, if he were. No, my treasure, your father lives to rain blood upon us all."

A startled gasp brought on a coughing fit and stream of blood to dribbled over Luke's chin. The man brushed it away with his fingers, then brought those fingers to his own lips for a taste.

"Piiilot. Deead. Nooo."

A tired shrug jarred the young man enough to send a jolt of pain through him. The man looked down at the boy, his expression one of feigned surprise.

"Oh, those stormtroopers might have been a tad rough with you. Hmmm?"

For the first time the battered head lolled back and blue eyes looked onto the man. A defiant glare tore into the man until Luke registered what was looking back at him: cold, tawny eyes. He gagged and coughed again, managing to bring forth another bout of dry heaving. Palpatine waited until he was finished and offered him another sip of water. In a daze, Luke accepted.

"As I was saying, you are heir to a bloody heritage, Son of Skywalker."

The boy shifted against Palpatine's side.

"Yes," the man hissed. "Anakin Skywalker. What tales of adventure have you weaved in your dreams for this illustrious father of yours? Does he fly through the stars like an angel? Does he bravely defend the helpless and weak?" A dry, cackling laugh grated in Luke's ear. "Oh, child, you have so much to atone for."

Luke drew a deep breath slowly and managed not to choke. "My.. father was nothing. A pilot. He couldn't have..."

"Slaughtered the entire Jedi Order? He couldn't have razed entire species from existence?"

"No. No. A pilot."

The wizened man leaned down and pressed his grey lips against the shell of Luke's ear. "I knew your father. I knew him when he was young. I knew him when he was a Jedi." Palpatine smiled as Luke's body tensed. "I saw your father fall. I saw your father consumed by fire. I saw your father's body encased in armor to sustain him." A gasping sob drew another smile forth from the man. "I know the man your father has become... an agent of death and destruction. All darkness. Do you know of whom I speak?"

Luke's body was shaking now. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Precious moisture his body could not afford to lose. A small moan escaped the boy and Palpatine smiled.

"Do you see now? Do you see what you need to answer for?"

The boy was shaking.

"You can save him, you know. You could have your father. You could know him. He would love you." Those shining blue eyes turned on him again, and Palpatine smiled down like a doting grandfather. The Master of the Dark Side poked the young man playfully in the nose. "You could be a family. Would you like that?"

A minute nod. The eyes never wavered, wide and fascinated... enraptured.

"Together we'll save your father," Palptine whispered. "And you will owe everything you hold dear to me. Your very soul will be mine, child."

Luke's crystalline eyes glossed over as he nodded without thought, sealing his pact with the devil.

Palpatine sighed contently and wrapped his arms around the battered boy. Holding him close, he whispered into his hair, "Oh, my child, that I found you first... the wonders we shall see together."


End file.
